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Battlestar Galactica

Episode #204 - "Resistance"

This document is ©2005, John Larocque. All rights reserved.

47,861 survivors in search of a home called Earth.

The Cylons were created by man. They evolved. They rebelled. There are many copies. And they have a plan.

Synopsis

On Caprica, a group of resistance fighters are in a forest outside Delphi. They spot Kara's Hummer and suspect they are Cylons. The leader (Anders) tells his group, "I wanna blow these Cylons away before they ever knew what hit them." In the vehicle, Kara directs Helo (who is driving) toward the emergency airstrip at Gups' Point, but Helo thinks they should head southwest. Helo comments on her collection of automatic rifles inside the vehicle. "Drive through a lot of bad neighborhoods?" "Better safe than sorry." Kara hears a twig snap and the resistance fighters start shooting. "We're sitting ducks down here!" Helo tells her to go, and he'll cover her. "Five of them, split up between nine and one. 50 meters."

On Galactica, in the hallway, Cally is talking with Baltar. "They locked the Chief up with Boomer. Tigh thinks he's a Cylon." "I know. I'm gonna see the Colonel now. I think he wants me to find a way to clear the Chief. Or..." "Or what? Throw him out the airlock like a piece of garbage? I've known the Chief for years. He's no toaster." "He was involved with Lieutenant Valerii, who most certainly is a toaster." Number Six comments on the expression. "The word is racist. I don't like it. Say something, Gaius. Tell her you won't have racial epithets used in your presence. Your child's gonna be half toaster. How does that make you feel?" Baltar tells her, "I'm very sorry. I was gonna tell the Colonel there's nothing I can do. The Cylon detector I developed doesn't work. Clearly." "He helped you! He didn't tell anyone what you did on Kobol. What you did to Crashdown." He pushes her into the wall. "What I did to Crashdown saved your life. Are you blackmailing me?" "Help the Chief to help yourself, Doctor."

In CIC, Baltar meets with Tigh. "What the hell's the matter with your Cylon detector, Doctor? You gave the asssassin a pass." "Yes, but that was a beta test, a preliminary. Clearly I hadn't perfected my methodology, and she slipped through." "What the hell are you telling me here? That we are back to square one? That no one's results are definitive? That we have no way of knowing who are the Cylons among us?" "No, I'm saying that since the assassin's test, I've developed a new set of protocols which should elminate any errors -- anomalies -- that cropped up earlier. If you let me test the Chief's blood, I might be able to tell once and for all if..." "No 'if'. I want a definitive answer. No more of your weasely technobabble. He's a Cylon or he's not. So get down there and do something right for a change." Baltar also tries to take over Laura's duties as President, but Tigh stops him. "Legally speaking, I have declared martial law. That makes you nobody. So, unless you want to join Roslin in the brig, I suggest you get to work."

Number Six comments to Baltar. "Aren't you tired of the continual humiliation? The disrespect from mechanics and Colonels alike? Maybe it's time to do something about it." Gaeta reports protests from the civilians. "Demonstrations, petitions, even some disobedience. All over the declaration of martial law. Sir, there's more. The Aturian refining vessel has stopped refining Tylium... Their captain says they'll send fuel once the civilian government has been restored. And three other ships are also refusing to resupply until the President's reinstated."

Lee is in the ready room addressing the pilots. "I got a note from combat warning about problems with Tylium resupply. So watch your fuel burn till further notice." The pilots want to know when he's going to play cards with them again. Hot Dog says, "Come on back. We miss you, Captain." After the meeting is over, he heads back towards his cell with a Marine sergeant, and they cross paths with Dualla. "How's my father today." "Commander Adama's the same, Captain. He's sedated. Resting comfortably since the surgery. Trouble brewing in the fleet, though... Martial law isn't going down too well. Protests, demonstrations. Some ships are even refusing to resupply Galactica." "And this is the honeymoon period. What's a dictator to do?" "He's hitting the bottle. A lot."

Tigh is talking with Ellen in his quarters. "I'm trying to figure out how to solve our resupply problem now that half the fleet has gone on strike... I should probably call a summit sit-down with all the ships' captains and explain the situation and tell them why I had to declare martial law. It wouldn't hurt. It would cool things down a little." "Screw them. Like you have to explain yourself to them." Tigh asks her to explain herself. "It just feels kind of... touchy-feely... Bill would never do that. But you gotta do what you gotta do. I mean, Bill may never get on his feet again. Honey, you handle this the way you want. They'll respect that. Eventually." He phones up Gaeta to send a message to all ships' captains. "Resupply operations of this ship are not optional. All ships to recommence scheduled supply runs immediately. Failure to comply will result in... stern measures." He asks his wife, "You happy now?"

On Caprica, the shooting ends in a standoff near a shack, with everybody pointing guns at each other. Kara says that they aren't Cylons. Anders retorts, "Right. You're human. You have a soul. You swim in a the stream. We heard it all before." Kara replies that everyone on Caprica is dead. "You're not." "I just got here. I want to hear some names." When Anders introduces himself, Helo asks if he's Samuel T. Anders, and recognizes the other resistance members as members of the Caprica Buccaneers. Kara asks, "How does a professional pyramid team survive a nuclear holocaust?" "We were in the mountain when the Cylons attacked. High altitude training. We've been on the run ever since. Raiding military stores for ammo. Anti-radiation meds. And plugging toasters whenever they show up." Kara asks Anders, "How many foul breaks did you have in the playoff against Aerilon? You either have the answer or you have a bullet." "Three." "Wrong. Four." "Three. Last one was called back on instant replay." Helo replies, "He's right, Starbuck. I lost 20 cubits on that game." They lower their weapons on the count of three. "You know you guys suck, right? Can't shoot, can't pass. Sure as hell can't take the point." "Everyone's a critic."

On Galactica, Venner brings Laura some chamalla and licorice. Lee comments, "It's interesting he still calls you Madam President. You still have a lot of supporters out there." "Something ugly is coming. I can feel it." In CIC, Gaeta reports, "Refinery captain's still not cooperating. And now seven other container ships are refusing to release their supplies. Food, medicine, even coffee." "Coffee? This is getting ridiculous. Frak this. It's time to get their attention. I'm sending in the Marines. I want a Raptor and an armed Marine boarding party for every ship refusing the resupply order." Gaeta tells him they are short of non-commissioned officers, and Tigh orders pilots and deck officers to command the boarding parties. "Tell them to get over there and bring back the supplies."

Aboard the Gideon, soldiers are pelted with coffee beans as they take the supplies. A gunshot is fired and then the soldiers open fire. Tigh is in sickbay talking with Dr. Cottle. "Four civilian dead. How the frak could this have happened?" "What'd you expect, genius? You put a pilot in charge of crowd control." "Palladino, did you give the order to shoot on that crowd?" "No, sir, of course not. The crowd surrounded us... They were yelling and screaming at us, and then it got violent. They started throwing things, cannisters. Coffee, I think." "You shot people for throwing coffee?" "The crowd was out of control. They were pressing in on us. My men were getting hurt. Somebody took a shot. I don't know who it was. Then all hell broke loose." "If we ever needed you, Bill, it's right now."

In the brig, Laura is upset. She tells Lee, "Troops shooting unarmed civilians. This is a travesty. He has truly stepped over the line. It'll cause an explosion in the fleet. The press will have a field day. The ships would begin to splinter. The Cylons will be able to eliminate us a few ships at a time. We've got to get out of here now." "I am right with you." "I'm so glad you said that. I want to take Billy and Elosha with me." "Of course you do. I've worked a way of getting us in the hangar deck. And I can get us a Raptor. But we're still gonna need clearance to get off the ship. I know how to get that." "Question is, where do we go once we get off the ship? We'll have to find some place to hide in the fleet while we rally support among the people." "I've got an idea about that. You're not going to like it."

Tigh is arguing with Ellen in his quarters. "I'm not cut out for this. I never was. Me and Bill, side by side, that was the deal. It was never supposed to be me alone." "Don't talk like that Saul. This is your moment. Like it or not, you're in command, so you better deal with it." "I don't want to deal with it. I do not want to command." "I never told you to send troops out to that ship." "No, you didn't tell me to send troops anywhere. You just manipulate. You always do. You put the knife in, and you twist it." "Oh, right you're going to blame me for your own inadequacy? You are so frakking passive that if I didn't push you, you would never get your head out of that frakking bottle and do anything." "I warned you. I'm telling you." He throws down his drink and grabs her, and she slaps him. Then they start kissing. "I love you so much." "Shut up, Ellen."

Sharon and Tyrol are arguing in the brig. "I guess you must really hate me. I don't know if this makes any difference right now, but I'm really sorry you got pulled into this. You know, what we had..." "Was nothing. You're a machine. I'm not." "Well, whatever I am, I know how I felt." "Software doesn't have feelings." "I never meant to hurt you." Baltar enters the brig and speaks to Tyrol. "I'm here to determine whether you're a Cylon or not. Your arm, please." Sharon tells him, "His test doesn't work too well. I mean, he gave me the green light." "The test works... just fine." Baltar, instead of extracting blood, injects him with a fluid, and Tyrol passes out. "I lied to you, Sharon. I covered up your true nature from the rest of the fleet for my own purposes... He's dying right now. I can save him if you tell me how many Cylons there are left in the fleet." "I don't know, but I'm not getting a pulse." "Yes, you do. Now, buried deep down in tha thing you call a subconscious you know how many." "Chief? Chief?" "He doesn't have time for this. His organs are shutting down. In ten seconds time, he'll experience complete brain stem death. Now how many. Do you love him, Sharon?" "Eight! There are eight." Baltar quickly revives Tyrol.

On Caprica, they arrive at the resistance camp, located at the Delphi Union high school. "All right, let's get these weapons unloaded. Let's go! Hit an armory earlier today, about 18 kliks north. Brought home a lot of toys." "What is this place?" "Delphi Union high school. Toasters don't patrol this area. It's good place to get some shut-eye, a bite to eat." "How many people you have here?" "53. We had almost a hundred before the toasters ambushed us last week." Anders tells Kara that most of the resistance are C-Bucs. "Rest are survivalists, hikers mostly." Helo asks, "How's your stock of anti-radiation masks?" "Raided a couple of hospitals down in Pilgrim Bay. I figured we've got enough for three months. Kara remarks, "53, huh? Not exactly an army. A hell of a lot better than the two of us if we're going to assault an airbase, steal a heavey raider, and get the frak off this planet."

In sickbay, Laura tells Dr. Cottle, "I need your help. But it's illegal, dangerous, and in violation of your oath of office." "You're a lousy salesman." Billy talks to Venner in a hallway and gives him a special request. And Dualla procures Tigh's signature on a document to close Causeway B, authorizing integrity testing and repairs as a result of the Cylons boarding the ship. In the bathroom, Gaeta sees Dualla and makes an inquiry. "I was running some maintenance checks, detected a series of scrambled calls going out over the past few hours. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" "No, sir. Offlog calls are against regs." Later, in sickbay, Lee tells his father, "I'm sure you won't approve. But I guess that's nothing new. I just want you to know that this isn't about you and me. Goodbye, dad."

In the hangar, Cally is talking to Jammer about the cage that Tigh told them to build for the Chief. "This isn't right. He's one of us." "No, he's one of them. He always was. We just never saw it." "No, he's innocent. She tricked him." "Wow, such loyalty. Were you frakking him too?" She starts attacking Jammer but he gains control. "You want to get pissed at someone, you get pissed at Boomer. She's the one who put the Chief in the cell here, not us." In a hallway, Lee and the Marine sergeants encounter Dualla on his way to the brig. "Everything set?" "Roger that." She tells him, "I'm having trouble with the ordnance tracking on my Raptor, sir. I can't get it to cycle." "OK, change of plans, boys. Instead of getting some rack time, I'm going to take a minute to do the Lieutenants job for her."

In the brig, Venner arranges for a Marine to knock him out. "Make it look good, but not too good." Two Marines grab Laura and move her out of the cell and into Causeway B, where they are stopped by a private and Laura convinces her to let her go. "You and I have something in common. We each took an oath to protect and defend the articles of Colonization. Those articles are under attack, as is our entire democratic way of life. Now, my duty won't let me stand here and allow to happen. So I intend to go through that hatch and get off this ship. You can either stand aside, or you can shoot me. You'll have to decide where your duty lies." "Madam President, this way." Billy however won't go be getting on the ship with her. "I understand what you're trying to do. But it's going to divide the fleet. At the very best, it'll create an insurgency against Adama. And at the worst, a civil war. Taking part in that is a line I won't cross." Aboard the Raptor, Lee, Laura and Elosha get a clearance for takeoff on a medical mission.

In CIC, Gaeta informs Tigh that Venner has reported Laura missing. "Two men down, cell's empty." Tigh sets a condition two on the ship, with nobody allowed on or off the ship. "Flight log records a Raptor departed the ship two minutes ago with Doc Cottle on a medical emergency." "Get the CAP on the horn and have them intercept. And get Captain Adama out of the brig." Dualla tells Tigh that Cottle is still on board. "He says he was forced to request the Raptor at gunpoint by Captain Adama." Tigh initiates communication with the Raptor. "Turn that ship around, Apollo, or I'll order the CAP to shoot you down." "We're not turning back." "I'll do it. Don't think I won't just because you're the Old Man's son." "Then do what you have to do, Galactica. Apollo out." He orders them to fire across their bow but the dradis reports the Raptor heading for Cloud Nine. "Sir, if they dock, we may lose them. Cloud Nine is one of the busiest transport hubs in the fleet. Shuttles coming and going constantly. If they board one and take off, itll be before we can shut down air traffic." Tigh orders Hot Dog not to fire on the ship and lets them go. "They couldn't have done it on their own. Did anybody notice offlog calls? Scrambled communications?" Gaeta replies, "No, sir. Nothing."

On Cloud Nine, they disembark and are greeted by Tom Zarek. "Good to see you, Madam President." "Captain Apollo, what is Mr. Zarek doin here?" "Once Tigh gets over his initial shock, he'll send troops out to search for us. If we're goign to make it, we have to keep on the move. I figured Mr. Zarek here is the only one in the fleet with enough shady friends around who can possibly hide us." Zarek comments, "Love the way he puts that." "Well, Mr. Zarek, it would seem the enemy of my enemy is my friend." "Call me Tom." "Our shuttle's waiting, ma'am. We have to hurry."

On Caprica, Kara and Anders are playing a game of pyramids. "Nice to know installing a regulation pyramid court was one of the priorities of the resistance." "Well, there are some things one cannot live without." He warns her, "I'll wipe the court with you." "We'll see about that. I was scouted for the pros. Bum knee took me out of contention." "Is that going to be your excuse when I kick your ass." "At least I have an excuse. I can't imagine what yours is going to be."

On Galactica, Tyrol is released from the brig and Baltar tells him that he should thank Sharon. "Why? What does she have to do with it?" "Everything. Nothing. Love is a strange and wonderful thing, Chief. You'd be happy you experienced it at all. Even if it was with a machine." "What are they going to do to her?" "They're setting up a new holding facility. There will be tests. Mental. Physical." "Like she's some kind of lab rat?" "That's the idea."

Ellen is arguing with Tigh in his quarters. "Bill Adama's little baby boy pulls the wool over your eyes, and you let him get away scot free. You're a laughing stock. You didn't want this command. Well, don't worry about it. You won't have it for much longer. All because when push came to shove, you got shoved." "It was his son." At this point, Adama enters. He has woken up from his coma and left sickbay, and asks Ellen to speak to Tigh alone. "Saul. What's happening to my ship?" "I frakked things up and good. I made some bad calls." "I've done that." "Not like these." "Never had much use for people who second-guessed my decisions. Especially if they've never held a command. They don't understand the pressure. You make a call. It affects the lives of thousands. And you have no one to turn to for backup." "Well, you make it look easy." "Well, now you know that's a lie now." "A lot of pieces to pick up." "Then we'll pick 'em up together. Where's my son?"

Sharon is being led in chains to her new holding area and crew members are shouting insults at her. "Bitch! Traitor! Backstabber!" Cally comes out of the crowd and shoots Sharon in the stomach and she goes down. Tyrol is next to her and goes, "No no no... Hey hey hey... Shhh, shhh..." "I love you, Chief." She dies in his arms.

Ron Moore's Commentary

1/20/2005 -- Question: Do Chief Tyrol, Dualla and Lt Gaeta have first names? And if so, what are they?

Only the Chief has a first name so far: Galen.

4/11/2005 -- Question: Was the rest of humanity completely wiped out on the homeworlds? Or are there some pockets of resistance in remote areas along the lines of the movie "Red Dawn"? The Cylons would have to deal with an insurgency, which is always hard to fight unless they are willing to completely scorch the planets. Nuclear winter did not occur on Caprica so it must not have been nuked to that point. War is ultimately a test of wills, and I am sure some holdouts would exist and they would not sit on their asses but go find Cylons and get some.

I think you're going to like Season Two.

6/2/2005 -- Due to a bad decision on the part of Colonel Tigh, a group of Marines are put in an untenable situation and a tragedy occurs. It would not be the first time, nor the last, that a group of soldiers are sent into a bad situation by a commander and people are killed, and I see nothing wrong with exploring that. (source: Colonial Fleets message board)

8/5/2005 -- We kept calling it the Kent State episode, where Tigh's repressive leadership would essentially result in the deaths of civilians. There would be an explosion of outrage in the fleet. This would prompt the prison break of Laura Roslin, and the start of a counter-coup, or counter-revolutionary movement within the fleet, and at the end of the episode would culminate in the return of Commander Adama to the Galactica. And that was always the concept of the show. (source: Resistance podcast)

8/5/2005 -- Here's the guy that was in love with Boomer. Here's the guy who protected Boomer. Here's the guy that everybody on the ship knew was involved with Boomer. So wouldn't he be under some kind of suspicion? (source: Resistance podcast)

8/5/2005 -- This plotline about Cally ultimately being Jack Ruby, I believe was suggested by our co-executive producer Toni Graphia, who wrote this episode, in one of her drafts... Somewhere along the line came this idea of a shocking end to Boomer, that Boomer would just get shot and killed. And it was a great instinct... What we wanted to play was a little bit close to the reality of some of these events, as close to reality as we could get, in that there would be tremendous amounts of anger and conflicted emotions about having her on the ship at all. From this point forward, even though Cally's not talking about Sharon, it's essentially that there's that Cylon woman in there, representative of all the problems that we have gone through on Galactica. As a person and a representative of her race, everything these people have gone through can be tracked back to her. So wouldn't there be tremendous amounts of ill will toward her? (source: Resistance podcast)

8/5/2005 -- This scene serves a couple of purposes. Some things we're going to develop later in the season are beginning here with this relationship between Dualla and Lee. We also liked the idea that Dualla had a special relationship to all the pilots, because she was literally the voice on the phone. She was the voice that called them home, and the voice that told them it was OK, or the voice that told them where danger was, and that she had this almost informal relationship with all the pilots on the ship, and this little scene is a nod in that direction, where they've established this routine each day of her happening to fall in with him as we walks back toward the brig. The guards deal with it, they like her, nothing untoward ever happens. But it is also a subtext that maybe there's something else here, and this little look here at the end from Kandyse. (source: Resistance podcast)

8/5/2005 -- There has to be a real marriage here. There has to be some back and forth psychologically of what she provides to him, in the way of some kind of comfort. And yet at the same time that she's "comforting him," there's also a bit of the twist of the knife, and there's also a bit of manipulation. Some of it conscious on her part, some of it unconscious. I think there's a part of Ellen that doesn't really understand what it is she does. I don't think she consciously is trying to get him to do specific things, so much as she does react to the moment, and reacts to weakness in a very predatory way. She sees weakness in her husband, and it makes her almost go on the attack, almost like a pack mentality kind of thing. (source: Resistance podcast)

8/5/2005 -- [Toni and I] were talking about, who are these resistance guys, where do they come from? Are they just going to be a bunch of other army guys, because that's not that interesting. Are they survivalists? That's almost interesting. Then somewhere in our conversation, one of us popped out with, maybe they're basketball players or something. And we both just started laughing. And I thought, that's actually kind of great. I kind of liked the absurd quality of that, that these guys would be a pyramid team. And then there was something that started to make sense. Like, oh, it's a pyramid team, and they're out doing high altitude training, they're in the mountains, that's why they've survived. It means they're not like crackerjack army special forces guys, which makes them interesting as well. And pyramid being the game that [is part of] Kara's backstory -- she wanted to be a pyramid player before she became a fighter pilot. It provided a certain connectivity to her story. And it was also great to opportunity play the attitude involved, and see the game. We decided to go for it. It's just one of those odd, absurd moments, that in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust, that you might happen across the L.A. Lakers or something. (source: Resistance podcast)

8/5/2005 -- Corporal Venner ultimately aids in the escape of Laura Roslin. We talked for quite a while about who Venner was, and Venner sort of being representative of a more spiritual type of person in the fleet. He comes from Gemenon. We've established that Gemenon is more "fundamentalist" planet in our mythos, and he would have a special connection to Laura, and that religious connection was going to override his sense of duty to the command. But you're seeing the whole command starting to fracture along different lines anyway under the leadership of Tigh. And I think the episode in some ways underlines how fragile this situation is. What's important to remember is that there is no higher power for these people to deal with. There's no fleet back there, there's no headquarters to deal with, there's no judicial system, there's no governmental structure at all. There's no replacements coming for any of these guys, there out by themselves. So essentially, right or wrong, anything that happens, they're going to wake up the same people tomorrow and nobody's going to change any of that. (source: Resistance podcast)

8/5/2005 -- Kent State [is] a misleading type for what this episode is about, and what happens here. A more accurate description of this sequence is the Boston Massacre, in that a group of soldiers pinned in a situation that they're unprepared for, and a tragedy happens. In the Boston Massacre, a group of British redcoats, before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, were backed up against a building in Boston with a mob, and the mob grew ugly and started throwing things. The situation got out of control, and somebody in one of these situations, like in that situation aboard the Gideon, squeezes off a shot. And it's really kind of key to the idea that you'll note we didn't show you who squeezed off the shot, where the first shot came from. Was it one of the civilians? Was it a Marine? How did that Marine fire off the shot? It doesn't matter, but the mistake is made. One shot goes off, and then the other Marines, in this situation they were completely unprepared for, fire back on instinct and people are killed. That's not Kent State. Kent State is a very different political situation, a very different setup. It carries with it a great, heavy political connotation. This is truly a little bit more the Boston Massacre, which then became a propaganda thing. The Colonists used it as a weapon ("There was a massacre, they fired indiscriminately into this crowd"), but the truth is actually more complex. (source: Resistance podcast)

8/5/2005 -- This little beat, I love it because it's so oddly twisted. What is going on with these two? What kind of relationship do they have? There's some vaguely violent sexual thing that happens between Tigh and his wife. You get the feeling this ain't the first time, and there's tragedy in the air, and then there's anger and then there's sex. It's interesting sometimes how those dots are connected. (source: Resistance podcast)

8/5/2005 -- He comes over, and he seems to be taking blood tests from Tyrol, Tyrol collapses, and suddenly "He's dying, Sharon. He has moments to live, and I want to know XYZ." Baltar has suddenly gone much darker, and it's all laid down, the pieces are there. Cally getting in his face, Tigh getting in his face, and the pressures that he's under, and the constant harping from Six. And finally this man starts to turn. And from this point forward in this season, he will slowly but surely start turning in a different direction. It doesn't mean he's become an out and out villain or bad guy, but certainly he's started to take a more aggressive, less kid-glove approach with everybody, and he's starting to advance his own agenda very strongly. (source: Resistance podcast)

8/11/2005 -- Question: Why didn't G-Sharon use Tyrol's first name when she told him she loved him in her dying moments? It was a perfect opportunity to add a deeper level to the the Chief's loss, a way to convey how close they once were and a way to clearly introduce Tyrol's first name to the audience.

I did write that in an early draft, but his first name -- Galen -- tends to elicit a chuckle the first time you hear it and we decided that hearing her say, "I love you, Galen" would break the moment for the audience. (Sort of like that priceless moment on "Seinfeld" when you hear that Kramer's first name is actually Cosmo, it requires a slow, George Costanza take to really give it its due.)

8/11/2005 -- It's up to you to decide who you like and who you don't. Personally, I like all of them. I like their flaws and I like their virtues, and for me, it's not a matter of finding redemption for anyone as much as it is a matter of allowing each character to be true to who and what they are and finding the most emotionally truthful storyline for them each week. Sure, Tigh's made bad decisions and he'll likely make more, but isn't it interesting how all the good he did last season, all the good decisions he made, are suddenly overshadowed by the few bad choices he made this season? Tigh saved the entire ship during the miniseries, held the crew together through the nightmare of "33", located the lost fleet in "Scattered" and knew how to defeat the Centurion boarding party in "Valley of Darkness," but now that he's made a few bad calls (and some were really bad) he's called a worthless loser. What does that say about the nature of heroism? Does it mean that bestowing the title of Hero is less about discerning the intrinsic nature of a man than it is simply another example of the old game of "Yeah, but what have you done for me lately?" We love you today, but if you screw up tomorrow, you're history. Maybe that's only fair. Maybe that's the way it's supposed to work. Maybe. Again, it's up to you to decide, you're the audience. Me, I love Tigh and Starbuck and all of'em. Warts and all.

9/16/2005 -- I think there's an array of religious beliefs within the Colonial tradition. For the sake of the TV show, it's a little easier to just in broad strokes keep it, "They're polytheistic as a culture." To keep that in the audience's mind. But we are starting to differentiate some of the Colonies. Like Gemenon; we're starting to say it's more fundamentalist in how it treats and looks at the scriptures. Tyrol comes from Gemenon. His father was a priest. His mother was an oracle. That particular Colony is much more steeped in and takes the scriptures very literally and seriously. Other Colonies do not. So we're starting to draw out those differentiations. (source: Now Playing)

David Eick's Commentary

Commentary

These are the names of the Caprica Buccaneers introduced in this episode: Samuel T. Anders, Jo-man, Rally, Ten-point, Sue-Shaun, Crip-Key and Morris Fink.

This is the first time that Tyrol's first name has been revealed. Galen is also the name of a philosopher cited in "The Hand of God," whose axiom was "Surrender your ego. Remain humble." Tyrol's father was a priest and mother was an oracle. According to Ron Moore's blog at Scifi.com, he's from Gemenon

Number Six finds the use of the expression toaster racist and a racial epithet.

Cally tries to blackmail Baltar into helping Tyrol by threatening to reveal what he did to Crashdown.

Tigh describes Baltar's explanations for his Cylon detector failures as "weasely technobabble." He also rebuffs Baltar's attempt to take over as President, threatening to place him with Laura in the brig.

Ellen convinces her husband to take a hardline stand against those opposed to martial law and Laura's detention.

"You're human. You have a soul. You swim in the stream. We heard it before." This is Anders' response to Kara's assertion that she and Helo are not Cylons.

Lee plots with Laura in her plans to escape detention. Cottle is part of the conpsiracy along with Dualla, Venner and several Marines. Gaeta makes inquires with Dualla about offlog calls but becomes accessory after the fact when he denies their existence to Tigh.

"He's one of them. He always was. We just never saw it." This is what Jammer tells Cally when she is upset about the cage they are building for Tyrol.

Laura tells one of the Marine privates that the articles of Colonization are under attack, and their entire democratic way of life. "My duty won't let me stand here and allow it to happen."

Billy refuses to join Laura on the ship, claiming Laura's actions would divide the fleet. "At the very best, it'll create an insurgency against Adama. And at the worst, a civil war. Taking part in that is a line I won't cross." Lee, Laura and Elosha.

"I was scouted for the pros. Bum knee took me out of contention." This is Kara describing what put an end to her Pyramid ambitions.

Baltar puts Tyrol's life in jeopardy in order to extract an admission from Sharon that there are eight Cylons left in the fleet. Later he tells Tyrol it was Sharon that got him out of the cage. "Love is a strange and wonderful thing, Chief. You'd be happy you experienced it at all. Even if it was with a machine."

Tigh ultimately refusees to fire on Lee's Raptor.

When Adama wakes up, Adama admits "I frakked things up and good." Adama replies that he never had use for people who second-guessed his decisions, "especially if they've never held a command." He is essentially affirming that Tigh is someone he can turn to, and someone who understands the weight of command. He promises to pick up the pieces for him.

Cally is the one who shoots Sharon.

"I recently finished writing an episode involving a Kent State-like incident where the military becomes overzealous." -- Toni Graphia (co-executive producer) on 5/28/2005 (source: TV Zone)

"Saul Tigh has been drinking since he was a teenager. His drinking is sometimes out of control. It is mostly in control. That is, he is a functioning alcoholic... I guess the only defense Col. Tigh could give to his detractors is that he genuinely never asked for the job in the first place. If he aspired to be commander, if that is what he signed up for, trained for, wanted to do, then as soon as Adama was shot he would have taken control. If he would have barked out commands immediately, people would have jumped and asked questions later if necessary. But when Adama was shot it had to be pointed out to him that he was in command. He had to be asked for his orders. He was in shock. He did the best he could... If he made any bad decisions, it wasn't with malice aforethought. The fleet needed supplies, so he sent in the Marines; government isn't working, martial law. The first words out of Tigh's mouth when Adama stumbles into his quarters are, 'I frakked up but good.' No false bravado there." -- Michael Hogan (Tigh) in December 2005 (source: Sci-Fi Magazine)

"As XO, Tigh will have to step up while Adama's under the weather. It's a lot of pressure for someone who never aspired to command. He's spent a lot of his life medicating his problems away. Now he's going to be hit with a whole new level of problems: An incarcerated president, an unruly Quorum, and an overly ambitious wife. I'd say the sauce might seem pretty tempting, but who can say? Adama saw something in the man a long time ago, and perhaps that quality will come out." -- Bradley Thompson (writer) on 4/1/2005 (source: Chicago Tribune)